Soo Chen Kwan

National University of Malaysia

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Jamal Hisham Hashim

Jordan University of Science and Technology

Rosnah Sutan

National University of Malaysia

Mazrura Sahani

National University of Malaysia

Maizatun Mustafa

International Islamic University Malaysia

Mohd Faiz Ibrahim

National Institutes of Biotechnology Malaysia

Muhammad Ikram A. Wahab

National University of Malaysia

Jamal Hisham Hashim

United Nations University-International Institute for Global Health

James Woodcock

University of Cambridge

Marko Tainio

Polish Academy of Sciences

Siti Nur Hanis Mamood

National University of Malaysia

Cooperative Institutions

Inserm

Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas

Weatherford College

Instituto de Salud Carlos III

Istituti di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico

National University of Malaysia

Universitat de Barcelona

Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red

Consorci Institut D'Investigacions Biomediques August Pi I Sunyer

Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris

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A review on co-benefits of mass public transportation in climate change mitigation

Sustainable Cities and Society (2016)

Soo Chen Kwan Jamal Hisham Hashim

Modal shift

10.1016/j.scs.2016.01.004

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Citations (103)

Health co-benefits in mortality avoidance from implementation of the mass rapid transit (MRT) system in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Reviews on Environmental Health (2016)

Soo Chen Kwan Marko Tainio James Woodcock Jamal Hisham Hashim

The mass rapid transit (MRT) is the largest transport infrastructure project under the national key economic area (NKEA) in Malaysia. As urban rail is anticipated to be the future spine of public transport network in the Greater Kuala Lumpur city, it is important to mainstream climate change mitigation and public health benefits in the local transport development. This study quantifies the health co-benefits in terms of mortality among the urbanites when the first line of the 150 km MRT system in Kuala Lumpur commences by 2017.Using comparative health risk assessment, we estimated the potential health co-benefits from the establishment of the MRT system. We estimated the reduced CO2 emissions and air pollution (PM2.5) exposure reduction among the general population from the reduced use of motorized vehicles. Mortality avoided from traffic incidents involving motorcycles and passenger cars, and from increased physical activity from walking while using the MRT system was also estimated.A total of 363,130 tonnes of CO2 emissions could be reduced annually from the modal shift from cars and motorcycles to the MRT system. Atmospheric PM2.5 concentration could be reduced 0.61 μg/m3 annually (2%). This could avoid a total of 12 deaths, mostly from cardio-respiratory diseases among the city residents. For traffic injuries, 37 deaths could be avoided annually from motorcycle and passenger cars accidents especially among the younger age categories (aged 15-30). One additional death was attributed to pedestrian walking. The additional daily physical activity to access the MRT system could avoid 21 deaths among its riders. Most of the mortality avoided comes from cardiovascular diseases. Overall, a total of 70 deaths could be avoided annually among both the general population and the MRT users in the city.The implementation of the MRT system in Greater Kuala Lumpur could bring substantial health co-benefits to both the general population and the MRT users mainly from the avoidance of mortality from traffic injuries.

10.1515/reveh-2015-0038

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Public transport and health

Elsevier eBooks (2020)

Soo Chen Kwan Jamal Hisham Hashim

Modal shift

Mainstream

Population Health

Mode of transport

10.1016/b978-0-12-819136-1.00006-1

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COVID-19 Epidemic in Malaysia: Epidemic Progression, Challenges, and Response

Frontiers in Public Health (2021)

Jamal Hisham Hashim Mohammad Adam Adman Zailina Hashim Mohd Firdaus Mohd Radi Soo Chen Kwan

COVID-19 pandemic is the greatest communicable disease outbreak to have hit Malaysia since the 1918 Spanish Flu which killed 34,644 people or 1% of the population of the then British Malaya. In 1999, the Nipah virus outbreak killed 105 Malaysians, while the SARS outbreak of 2003 claimed only 2 lives. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has so far claimed over 100 Malaysian lives. There were two waves of the COVID-19 cases in Malaysia. First wave of 22 cases occurred from January 25 to February 15 with no death and full recovery of all cases. The ongoing second wave, which commenced on February 27, presented cases in several clusters, the biggest of which was the Sri Petaling Tabligh cluster with an infection rate of 6.5%, and making up 47% of all cases in Malaysia. Subsequently, other clusters appeared from local mass gatherings and imported cases of Malaysians returning from overseas. Healthcare workers carry high risks of infection due to the daily exposure and management of COVID-19 in the hospitals. However, 70% of them were infected through community transmission and not while handling patients. In vulnerable groups, the incidence of COVID-19 cases was highest among the age group 55 to 64 years. In terms of fatalities, 63% were reported to be aged above 60 years, and 81% had chronic comorbidities such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart diseases. The predominant COVID-19 strain in Malaysia is strain B, which is found exclusively in East Asia. However, strain A, which is mostly found in the USA and Australia, and strain C in Europe were also present. To contain the epidemic, Malaysia implemented a Movement Control Order (MCO) beginning on March 18 in 4 phases over 2 months, ending on May 12. In terms of economic impacts, Malaysia lost RM2.4 billion a day during the MCO period, with an accumulated loss of RM63 billion up to the end of April. Since May 4, Malaysia has relaxed the MCO and opened up its economic sector to relieve its economic burden. Currently, the best approach to achieving herd immunity to COVID-19 is through vaccination rather than by acquiring it naturally. There are at least two candidate vaccines which have reached the final stage of human clinical trials. Malaysia's COVID-19 case fatality rate is lower than what it is globally; this is due to the successful implementation of early preparedness and planning, the public health and hospital system, comprehensive contact tracing, active case detection, and a strict enhanced MCO.

Pandemic

Communicable disease

10.3389/fpubh.2021.560592

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The carbon savings and health co-benefits from the introduction of mass rapid transit system in Greater Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Journal of Transport & Health (2017)

Soo Chen Kwan Marko Tainio James Woodcock Rosnah Sutan Jamal Hisham Hashim

Transportation is a convenient way to incorporate an active lifestyle, in addition to reducing environmental pollution. This study estimates the changes in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and the health co-benefits from two new mass rapid transit (MRT) lines in Greater Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Changes in CO2 and air pollutant emissions were estimated from motor vehicle activity based on the travel information collected from a survey. Health effects were estimated using a comparative health risk assessment method. Exposure to air pollution was modelled based on the reduction in ambient PM2.5 concentration. Traffic injury was estimated using a constant risk per distance for each transport mode. Physical activity was modelled based on the amount of walking to or from the stations. Health outcomes were calculated as changes in premature deaths and disability adjusted life years (DALYs). The two MRT lines would reduce 337,800 t of CO2 equivalent per year from private transportation. However, the use of motor vehicle in the station access-egress would offset 28% of the total carbon savings. The ambient PM2.5 concentration would be reduced by 0.12 µg/m3, preventing 5 deaths and 104 DALYs per year. Reduced traffic injuries would prevent 88 deaths and 6300 DALYs per year, while increased walking would prevent 90 deaths and 3200 DALYs per year. Sensitivity analysis revealed that travel distance, modal shift and station access-egress distance could considerably change CO2 emission reduction, while relative risks of physical activity could significantly affect attributable burden of diseases. The two MRT lines would reduce 6% of CO2 equivalent emission from private motor vehicles in Greater Kuala Lumpur and bring important health co-benefits to the population. However, strategic planning around the MRT stations for access and egress is necessary to achieve maximal benefits.

Mode of transport

10.1016/j.jth.2017.06.006

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Citations (51)

Urban environment and cause specific visits to community health centers of Medan city, Indonesia in 2016

Sustainable Cities and Society (2020)

Soo Chen Kwan Iin Juliani Saragih

Gee

10.1016/j.scs.2020.102228

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Citations (7)

Health Impacts from Traps and Carbon Emissions in the Projected Electric Vehicle Growth and Energy Generation Mix Scenarios in Malaysia

SSRN Electronic Journal (2022)

Soo Chen Kwan Sazalina Zakaria Mohd Faiz Ibrahim Wan Rozita Wan Mahiyuddin Nurzawani Md Sofwan

Road transport contribute over 70% of air pollution in urban areas and is the second largest contributor to the total carbon dioxide emissions in Malaysia at 21% in 2016. Transport-related air pollutants (TRAPs) such as NOx, SO2, CO and particulate matter (PM) pose significant threats to the urban populationâ€™s health. Malaysia has targeted to deploy 885,000 EV cars on the road by 2030 in the Low Carbon Mobility Blueprint (LCMB). This study aims to quantify the health co-benefits of electric vehicle adoption from their impacts on air quality in Malaysia. Two EV uptake projections, i.e. LCMB projection, and Revised EV Adoption (REVA) projection, and five electricity generation mix scenarios were modelled up to 2040. We used comparative health risk assessment to estimate the potential changes in mortality and burden of diseases (BoD) from the emissions in each scenario. Intake fractions and exposure-risk functions were used to calculate the burden from respiratory diseases (PM2.5, NOx, SO2, CO), cardiovascular diseases and lung cancer (PM2.5). Results showed that along with a net reduction of carbon emissions across all scenarios, there could be reduced respiratory mortality from NOx by 10,200 mortality (176,200 DALYs) and SO2 by 2,600 mortality (45,400 DALYs) per year in 2040. However, there could also be additional 719 mortality (9,900 DALYs) per year from PM2.5 and 329 mortality (5,600 DALYs) from CO per year. The scale of reduction in mortality and BoD from NOx and SO2 are significantly larger than the scale of increase from PM2.5 and CO, indicating potential net positive health impacts from the EV adoption in the scenarios. The health cost savings from the reduced BoD of respiratory mortality could reach up to RM 10 billion per year in 2040. In conclusion, EV is a way forward in promoting a sustainable and healthy transport future in Malaysia.

Energy mix

Carbon fibers

10.2139/ssrn.4048744

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Examining the Effect of Service Quality, Impact of usage and Attitude on the Intention to Use Rail Transit among Motorists in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

ISEE Conference Abstracts (2018)

Soo Chen Kwan Rosnah Sutan Jamal Hisham Hashim

Background/Aim: Public transits have been widely promulgated as an effective way to reduce transport emissions with trickledown co-benefits on population health. This study revealed the significance of behavioural factors behind the intention to use rail transport system among motorists in the setting of Greater Kuala Lumpur (GKL), Malaysia. Methods: We conducted a cross sectional survey along the corridor of an upcoming metro rail system in GKL. Respondents were asked to rate a list of items on behavioural beliefs of rail transport on a Likert scale. We then used the data obtained to test a hypothesized structural equation model. We tested the effects of behavioural beliefs on service quality and impacts from using rail transport, with attitude as the mediator, on the intention to use. We used the Maximum Likelihood (ML) estimation method to test the model. Results: The behavioural beliefs of both service quality and impacts from using rail transport had significantly positive effects on the intention to use it, with partial mediation by attitude. Reliability, convenience and comfort were the most important attributes of service quality while health faired lowly on impacts. Besides, the construct framework was significantly moderated by age groups, income groups, and having children below 18 years old. There was a stronger effect of service quality on the intention to use among the higher age groups while attitude played a significant role among the higher income groups. However, there was a low direct effect of service quality on attitude specifically among the higher income groups. Conclusions: This study demonstrated the importance of behavioural belief factors on the intention to use rail transport among motorists. Government policies and rail service providers could use this information to target on population behaviours in the efforts to increase utilization of public transits in a city and attain the coveted health co-benefits.

10.1289/isee.2017.2017-613

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Citations (1)

APN SCI BULL

APN Science Bulletin (2020)

Soo Chen Kwan

The developing countries in Asia are going through rapid urbanization, and integrating health considerations in the early stage of urban planning is important for sustainable development. This project was aimed at capacity building of participants from developing countries in Asia to enhance their a

10.30852/sb.2020.1229

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List of contributors

Elsevier eBooks (2020)

Rachel Aldred Paulo Anciaes Helga Birgit Bjørnarå Mark Brink Alberto Castro

10.1016/b978-0-12-819136-1.00026-7

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